Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Carlos Soria is my new mountaineering role model

Since turning 50, the Spaniard Carlos Soria has summitted nine 8,000 meter peaks. More impressively, he climbed five of them, including K2, after turning 65, and one of them (Gasherbrum I) at age 70. He plans to climb all fourteen 8,000 meter peaks by age 75. But Soria is not just obsessed with peaks rising above the arbitrary 8,000 meter threshold. Earlier this year, he made the first ascent of Dome Kang (~7,200 meters) in the Kangchenjunga Massif. Soria worked as a carpenter until "retiring" at 65.